Je tenais un Joyau dans mes doigts

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by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

I held a jewel in my fingers

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER

I held a jewel in my fingers
And went to sleep.
The day was warm, and winds were prosy;
I said: "'T will keep."

I woke and chid my honest fingers, -
The gem was gone;
And now an amethyst remembrance
Is all I own.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Gloria Coates (b. 1938), "I held a jewel in my fingers", from 15 Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Henry Mollincone (b. 1946), "I held a jewel", published 1966 [ SSAA chorus and piano or harp ], from Five Poems of Love [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 44

Je tenais un Joyau dans mes doigts

Language: French (Français) after the English

Je tenais un Joyau dans mes doigts --
Et j'allais dormir --
Le jour était tiède , et les vents étaient ennuyeux --
Je dis « il restera » --

Je m'éveillais -- et grondais mes doigts honnêtes,
La Gemme était partie --
Et maintenant, un souvenir d'Améthyste
Est tout ce que je possède --

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "I held a jewel in my fingers" = "Je tenais un Joyau dans mes doigts"

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-11-08
Line count: 8
Word count: 48